• Title : Carte Plate de L ile Necker ...Basse des Fregates Francaises...Descouvertes en Novembre 1786
• Date : 1797
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  92828
• Size: 31in x 23in (780mm x 585mm)

Description:
This large original copper plate engraved antique of the Necker Island (Mokumanamana) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de la Pérouse - was published in the 1st edition of the Atlas du voyage de La Perouse, Paris 1797.
La Perouse set sail from France in 1785 to continue the discoveries of Captain Cook. He was shipwrecked in 1788 but his narrative, maps, and views survived and were published in 1797.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 31in x 23in (780mm x 585mm)
Plate size: - 31in x 23in (780mm x 585mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
Necker Island (Hawaiian: Mokumanamana) is a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is located 155 miles northwest of Nihoa and 8 miles north of the Tropic of Cancer. It contains important prehistoric archaeological sites of the Hawaiian culture and is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument.
Few signs of long-term human habitation have been found. However, the island contains 33 stone shrines and stone artifacts much like those found in the main Hawaiian Islands. Because of this, many anthropologists believe that the island was a ceremonial and religious site. According to the myths and legends of the people of Kauai, which lies to the southeast, Necker Island was the last known refuge for a race of mythical little people called the Menehune. According to the legend, the Menehune settled on Necker after being chased off Kauai by the stronger Polynesians and subsequently built the various stone structures there. Visits to the island are said to have started a few hundred years after the main Hawaiian Islands were inhabited, and ended a few hundred years before European contact. French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse was the first European to visit the island, in 1786. The island is named after Jacques Necker. The islands were formally annexed in 1894 by the Provisional Government of Hawaii.